Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, Titi. This week's subjects: From Basic to Boss Lady: Styling Your Old Corporate Shirts the Ghanaian Way, Chanel buys Charvet, Gut health, and Gold Coast Restaurant and Lounge

From Basic to Boss Lady: Styling Your Old Corporate Shirts the Ghanaian Way. In many Ghanaian workplaces, a crisp corporate shirt is a wardrobe essential. Whether it's a classic white button-down, a striped Oxford shirt, or a pastel blouse, these pieces often become the backbone of our Monday to Friday outfits. But after wearing them repeatedly, they can start to feel boring. The good news? You don't need a whole new wardrobe to look stylish. With a few smart styling tricks, your old corporate shirts can look modern, elegant, and office ready even during Accra's hot and rainy seasons. Beat the Heat with Smart Pairings: Ghana's warm weather calls for breathable outfits. Pair your cotton corporate shirt with a lightweight midi skirt or wide-leg trousers in linen or cotton. Choose lighter colours to stay cool while maintaining a polished appearance. Belt It for a Flattering Shape: If your corporate shirt feels oversized, tuck it into high-waisted trousers or a skirt and add a slim belt. This simple trick defines your waist and creates a sleek, confident silhouette. Choose Comfortable Footwear: Complete your outfit with block heels, loafers, ballet flats, or smart leather sandals if your workplace allows them. Comfort is just as important as style, especially when navigating busy workdays. Confidence Is the Best Accessory: The most stylish women aren't always wearing the newest clothes—they're wearing their outfits with confidence. A well-ironed shirt, neat grooming, and a genuine smile will always make a lasting impression.

Chanel buys Charvet. Chanel is one of the few big-time fashion and luxury houses operating independently from the big conglomerates like LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), owned by French man Bernard Arnault, Kering, owned by French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, and Richemont, founded and controlled by South African billionaire Johann Rupert. Chanel’s main seller is Coco Chanel Perfume nr 5, selling about an estimated 10 million bottles per year bottles at around $190/100ml. They own their own flower plantations for some of the scents that go into Chanel 5. Other products are handbags, shoes, clothes, cosmetics, watches, skincare, eyewear and accessories. They are much less noisy than the other big luxury groups and don’t buy and buy others although they invested in some expensive wineries, and recently in a 15000- acre vineyard estate in the USA. But they have now bought 188-year old shirtmaker Charvet. A Charvet male shirt goes for about 7000 GHC, and they sell other luxury items as well. In case you wanted something for hubbies birthday. And I’ll have more on Chanel later on, lessons on how to climb to the top.

Gut health. Your gut of late is one of the top health areas under research and appears to do a lot more than just digest your food. I’d say that the number one of a healthy gut is to have a regular stool, once every 1 or 2 days, and an easy one, with a soft brownish sausage as result. Anything else is suspicious. Very difficult stooling is mainly as a result of not eating sufficient fibres and or not drinking sufficient. Change white rice and white bread for brown rice and bread, drink such that your urine is very pale yellow. And search for fibre rich food. If because of this you will now change your diet then go slow, a bit more every day of the fibre rich things. Not all in one go. We’ve meanwhile realized that your gut bacteria need to be maintained at a good level, and there are about 500-1000 different ones in there. If you recently were on antibiotics you’ve killed a lot of the good ones with the bad ones and need to repopulate your guts by eating lots of different types of fermented foods. Some doctors go as far as inserting a little bit of stool of a healthy gut person into the anus of a “sick” gut person to help rebuild the biome. Apart from digesting your food some of these bacteria create chemicals that influence your mood, your sex drive, your sleep, a whole lot of things (These bacteria actively synthesize and modulate neuroactive chemicals that influence various physiological and psychological functions). And a recent discovery is that some of these chemicals produced are markers of diseases which only much later will show their face (like cancer or inflammatory bowel disease). So in a few years expect that during a routine medical check-up doctor asks for a stool sample, this time not to establish why you have a running stomach or if you have worms, but to ascertain if your biome is balanced or if maybe you have a slowly developing cancer somewhere. Bon appetite.

Gold Coast Restaurant and Lounge (32 Fifth Ave Ext, Cantonments, Accra). The place was recently given a new look and from the increased size of the owner’s stomach I concluded that they are doing well. We sat outside and had beef and goat kebabs at 25 GHC which were spicy and tender but could have simmered a bit longer on the BBQ. But the spring rolls were a fatty crust with nothing worth mentioning inside. We also had Gold Coast loaded rice which was a sort of Peking Royal rice from a Chinese restaurant, quite fatty though the oil was of good quality and taste, with ample shrimps, chicken, beef, squid and egg through it. Also ample salt. The mini paper napkins of about 8 x 8 inch when fully folded open but then tear were not very helpful. This is a common problem, are napkins a big expense item when you pay a bill of say 6-700 GHC. The sad ending was that we paid our bill, left a reasonable tip but asked the waiter to get us 5 GHC note for the parking boys, but then we never saw that waitress again, despite lookin for her. Theft in open air and plain sight. My bill says that Judith Korto was the waitress.

Lydia...

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